In "The Blind Spot," by Saki, Egbert has just come from his Aunt Adelaide's funeral. He has been named executor and principal heir of her belongings. Egbert is having lunch with his Uncle Lulworth. Egbert desires to share a mysterious letter with his Uncle Lulworth, but Uncle Lulworth will not hear of the matter before or during lunch.

Uncle Lulworth takes his lunch very seriously. He is in awe of his cook, Sebastien. Sebastien came to cook for Uncle Luworth upon the untimely death of Aunt Adelaide's brother Peter for whom Sebastien cooked.

Egbert has a letter with evidence that Peter and Sebastien quarreled. Peter threw coffee in Sebastien's face. Sebastien then muttered something about killing Peter:

I [Peter] got so irritated and annoyed at [Sebastien's] conceit and obstinacy that at last I threw a cupful of coffee in his face and called him at the same time an impudent jackanapes. Very little of the coffee went actually in his face, but I have never seen a human being show such deplorable lack of self-control. I laughed at the threat of killing me that he spluttered out in his rage, and thought the whole thing would blow over, but I have several times since caught him scowling and muttering in a highly unpleasant fashion, and lately I have fancied that he was dogging my footsteps about the grounds, particularly when I walk of an evening in the Italian Garden.'

Shortly thereafter, Peter died from a blow to the head, but no one suspected Sebastien. He and Peter seemingly had never quarreled. Egbert had just found the letter addressed to his Aunt Adelaide. With this information, Sebastien would have had a motive to kill Peter.

Uncle Lulworth, who now employs Sebastien as his cook, asks Egbert for the letter. Uncle Lulworth burns the letter, the evidence that Sebastien could have had a motive for killing Peter. Egbert almost screams:

Egbert's voice rose almost to a scream. Sir Lulworth had flung the paper well and truly into the glowing centre of the grate. The small, neat hand-writing shrivelled into black flaky nothingness.

Egbert gasped. He cannot believe his Uncle Lulworth just destroyed the evidence that could have given Sebastien a motive for killing Peter:

"What on earth did you do that for?" gasped Egbert. "That letter was our one piece of evidence to connect Sebastien with the crime."

Uncle Lulworth intentionally burned the letter so there would be no evidence against Sebastien who is now his cook. Egbert asks why did he cover for a common murderer. Uncle Lulworth exclaims that murderers are common, but cooks are not:

"But why should you want to shield him?" cried Egbert; "the man is a common murderer."